New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Simon Nemec, All-Star

With defenseman Seamus Casey still battling an injury, Simon Nemec has been added to the All-Star roster.

It looks like Seamus Casey won’t play in the AHL All-Star game after all.

Per the AHL, Simon Nemec has been named to the All-Star team to replace teammate defenseman Seamus Casey, who has been battling an upper-body injury since mid-December. Casey is week-to-week and is expected to return shortly after the All-Star game. This announcement came after a monster night by Simon Nemec on Wednesday.

More on that game below.

Nemec has been red hot, of late, and now leads all Utica defensemen with 18 points in 24 contests, earning top pairing minutes and extra power play time since the injury to Seamus Casey. It should not be long until Nemec returns to the Devils lineup full time.

Around the Pool:

• The Utica Comets blew out the Hartford Wolf Pack 7-3 on Wednesday. Goaltender Nico Daws stopped 25 of 28 in his return from injury. As mentioned above, Simon Nemec had a massive game with two goals, three assists. Max Willman also scored twice and Nolan Foote added a goal and an assist in another strong performance. Chase Stillman even got in on the action, scoring his third of the season.

• On Friday, the Comets dropped a 3-2 contest to the Laval Rockets after surrendering two unanswered third period goals. Ryan Schmelzer scored twice for the Comets with newly-Max Willman and newly-named All-Star Simon Nemec picking up assists on on both goals. Nico Daws earned the loss, stopping 25 of 28.
• On Saturday, the Comets defeated Laval on the road 3-1. Goaltender Isaac Poulter earned second star honors stopping 24 of 25. Red hot Ryan Schmelzer scored for the Comets, his eighth of season, along with Xavier Parent and Nathan Legare. With the two wins this week, the Comets are starting to crawl out of the league basement, but are still dead last in the North Division, nine behind the Belleville Senators.
• Defenseman Daniil Karpovich returned to the ice a week from this past Sunday, suiting up for Avto’s MHL affiliate and potting an assist, his first point in any league this season. Before the injury, Karpovich was limited to three KHL games and six games in the VHL.
• A professional milestone for forward Arseni Gritsyuk.

• With a four point night, forward Max Graham has broken the point per game barrier for the first time this late into a season in his juniors career. Graham had 35 points in 34 games at the time of this writing.
• Winger Josh Filmon continues to improve in the ECHL and is now playing on the top line. After a rough start, Filmon has snuck into the top four in Thunder scoring this past week, despite playing less games than most of the top players on the team.

Final Thoughts

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